People Get Ready

About People Get Ready

"People Get Ready" is a 1965 single by the Impressions, and the title track from the People Get Ready album. The single is the group's best-known hit, reaching number-three on the Billboard R&B Chart and number 14 on the Billboard Pop Chart. The gospel-influenced track was a Curtis Mayfield composition that displayed the growing sense of social and political awareness in his writing. Rolling Stone magazine named "People Get Ready" the 24th greatest song of all time and also placed it at number 20 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. The song was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. "People Get Ready" was named as one of the Top 10 Best Songs Of All Time by Mojo music magazine, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2016, the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry due to its "cultural, historic, or artistic significance." Martin Luther King Jr. named "People Get Ready" the unofficial anthem of the Civil Rights Movement and often used the song to get people marching or to calm and comfort them. Various artists have covered the song, including Bob Marley & the Wailers in 1965 and 1977 and Rod Stewart & Jeff Beck in 1985. The Australian group Human Nature had a minor hit in Australia with their version in 1997. more »